


Love is an Open Door (AKA the Kasie fic)

by annadelamico



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27406138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annadelamico/pseuds/annadelamico
Summary: Kasie is feeling down about her love life, but will a visiting FBI agent change that?
Relationships: Kasie Hines/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, after months of talking about it, here's the Kasie fic.   
> It's cringy and stupid but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> CW// food, alcohol, mild mentions of homophobia

‘Hey Kase,’ Ellie skipped into the lab with an evidence bag in her hands. ‘Gibbs told me to bring you this. He wants it checked for DNA.’

‘Finally!’ Kasie took the bag eagerly and set it down on the table. ‘It’s been so long since we’ve had an active case, I was starting to think all the criminals had retired.’

‘It’s only been two days,’ Ellie reminded her with a chuckle, then pointed to the evidence bag. ‘We need to find out who owned that jacket. Whoever it is, they were involved in the robbery. They must have dumped it after one of the ink-packs burst. Serves them right for holding up a navy bank.’

‘Too right.’ Kasie gloved up and opened the bag. ‘I’ll let you know if I get anything.’

‘Okay.’ Ellie went to leave only to abruptly stop and spin back around. ‘Hey, didn’t you have a date last night?’

‘No, I rainchecked.’

‘KASIE!’

‘I’m sorry, okay?’ Kasie put down the evidence and leaned her elbows on the table. ‘I hate online dating. The thought of going out with a stranger at a fancy restaurant and dealing with all that small talk. Nope, nope, not for me.’

‘But you were telling me and Jack just last week that you wanted a girlfriend.’

‘I do, but not like that. It was so much easier in college, you know. At least then it was established we’d have college stuff in common. The girl I was meant to meet last night was a tax collector, El. A TAX collector. What could we possibly have talked about?’

‘Yes, I don’t know what someone who tracks down people stealing money would have in common with someone who is currently trying to track down someone who’s stolen money.’ Ellie shook her head and folded her arms, a determined look in eyes. ‘Okay, you, me, Jack, girl’s night. We’re going to every gay bar, club, coffee shop, and whatever else there is in this city until we find your soulmate.’

Kasie stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. ‘What about you two finding your own soulmates?’

Ellie rolled her eyes. ‘Please, Jack is totally dating Gibbs. And as for me, I’m just fine by myself.’

‘Yeah, okay,’ Kasie responded, choosing not to bring up the fact she was obviously in love with Nick. ‘But seriously, my new mantra is it’ll happen when it happens. Who knows, the love of my life could just walk through that very door and that’ll be that.’

Ellie offered her a small smile. A smile Kasie knew well. It was the “your cute but you’re not being realistic smile”. Her parents had given her it when she said she wanted to work at NASA, and her first serious girlfriend had given her it when she talked about their future together. Both annoyingly proved to be correct, and Ellie was probably right about this too.

‘It’s a nice thought, Kase, but I do think we should do a girls night. We’ll have a good time, and if you end up meeting someone special, well that’ll be an added bonus.’

‘Whatever you say,’ Kasie sighed. ‘Now go before Gibbs gets mad.’

‘He won’t get mad with me,’ Ellie said on her way out. ‘I’m his favourite.’

‘Jack is his favourite, and we all know it,’ Kasie called after her, before she once again found herself alone.

Alone. Yep that was a word she’d become pretty familiar with lately. It hadn’t really bothered her until recently, when she had noticed Jack had been going home with Gibbs a lot and Ellie and Nick seemed to be spending a lot more time together outside of work. And what with Tim and Jimmy being married with kids and Ducky having found a companion who enjoyed weekend museum trips and lengthy email correspondences. Even Leon was online dating pretty successfully, and he had seen his latest match a few times now according to Jack.

She, however, was stuck in singledom with no visible escape route.

With a sigh, Kasie refocused her attention on the jacket. If her love life was destined for failure, then she was going to be damn good at her job.

Through her search of the jacket, she found a hair with a follicle still attached and managed to get a hit on the FBI database. Andrew Cormack, an accused bank robber who was acquitted at trial over a mix-up with a warrant. Kasie told Gibbs, who was quick to phone up the FBI and that was that. A joint case was in the works and she was once again left to process whatever evidence she could.

She was in the middle of running some carpet fibres she found stuck to a decorative zipper on the sleeve when the elevator dinged. Kasie whirled around and eagerly awaited whichever member of the team had come down to see her, preferably with some new evidence for her to sink her teeth into.

Her prayers were half answered: a box of evidence came through the door of her lab sealed and ready for her to analyse, only it was in the hands of a stranger.

Admittedly a very pretty stranger, but a stranger all the same.

The woman looked around the same age as her, with honey blonde hair in perfectly styled waves and teal irises sharpened by her subtle silver eyeshadow. She was in formal clothes, more formal than Ellie or even Jack would wear; a well pressed charcoal pant suit with a white shirt underneath, though the top buttons were undone so offer some informality. Her blossom-painted lips stretched into a smile as she entered the lab fully, her heels clicking with every step.

‘Hey, I was told to deliver this to Kasie Hines?’

‘That’s me,’ Kasie answered. ‘Did Gibbs send you down?’

‘Yeah.’ The woman put the box down on the table and reached into her blazer pocket, revealing her badge. ‘Special Agent Carrie Hammond, FBI. I was on the original team that tried to bring down Cormack. My boss and Gibbs want me to go through this evidence with you, if that’s okay with you?’

Kasie swallowed and nodded. ‘Yep, yep, that’s totally fine with me.’

‘Great,’ Agent Hammond’s smile grew and Kasie was sure her heart did a little jump. ‘Let’s get started, shall we?’

Most of the evidence was pretty typical: the gun used in the hold-up and bank notes foundon Cormack registered to the bank he had been “accused” of robbing. The rest, well, it was mostly redundant. A coffee cup with his DNA found outside, boots that matched the tread of muddy footprints left by the robber that was found in Cormack’s possession, and a DVD with the footage of the robbery itself that showed a masked man with no distinguishing features besides his height and build.

‘There was more that would have actually nailed him to the wall,’ Agent Hammond explained, and Kasie could hear the regret in her voice. ‘But they’re considered fruit of the poisonous tree so if we’re going to actually convict the punk this time, we’ll have to do without.’

‘What happened?’ Kasie asked, only to quickly regret it. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, that is.’

‘It’s cool. You have every right to know.’ Agent Hammond moved to lean her hip against the table. ‘I was new on the team, so I was basically shadowing my boss while the other two agents went off to check out Cormack’s place. They swore they heard something inside and went in to see if anyone was in trouble, but the place was empty apart from his loot. His lawyer motioned for it to be made inadmissible because it was an illegal search, so all we had was the wad of cash we found on him that he explained away saying he’d sold a stereo system for cash, which he did had a craigs list ad for. We all knew it was an elaborate lie, but with the rest of the loot branded as inadmissible, we didn’t have a case.’

‘Seriously?’ Kasie shook her head in disbelief. ‘That’s seriously messed up.’

Agent Hammond nodded in agreement. ‘Let’s hope we can get him this time.’

‘We will,’ Kasie insisted, before she was interrupted by her computer bleeping. She looked to the screen and frowned at the result. ‘Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.’

‘What is it?’ Agent Hammond moved to stand next to her in front of the monitor. ‘Is this for our case?’

‘Yeah, I found fibres in Cormack’s jacket and I thought they were some kind of carpet fibre, but it turns out to be traces of fibreglass insulation.’

‘What like they use in soundproofing?’

‘Yeah, I can try and pinpoint the manufacturer, but question is, why would a bank robber want soundproofing.’

‘Because bank robbing probably isn’t all he’s up to.’ Agent Hammond then grinned and patted her fondly on the shoulder. ‘Good work, Ms Hines. I’ll go let our bosses know.’

Kasie listened as the click of heels disappeared, still able to feel the agents touch against her shoulder. She chuckled to herself and shook her head. ‘Okay, maybe I do need a girlfriend.’

After a few more tests, Kasie had managed to track down the type of insulation to a manufacturer and from there narrowed down local companies that carried it. By the end of the day, Ellie had compiled a list of potential properties in Cormack’s known stomping ground that had the insulation fitted, and the team were calling each one asking for client lists.

At that, Kasie thought it was safe to head home, until Gibbs cornered her on the way out and sent her back to analyse the jacket for any more clues about this suspicious location. Before she knew was eight pm and she was tired, frustrated, and in desperate need of food.

She was about to break into her emergency snack stash when she heard the ding of the elevator and the click of approaching heels. Looking round, she found Agent Hammond stood in the doorway, smiling sweetly. ‘Hi.’

‘Hey,’ Kasie responded. ‘Any news?’

‘Not yet. We’ve got the warrant for Cormack, but his place is trashed. Only new information we have is the insulation wasn’t used for his home address.’ Agent Hammond stepped fully into the lab. ‘My boss is giving me a break while he and Gibbs go to the diner to regroup, so I thought I’d come down here. How’re you doing?’

‘Me? I’m great. Just doing my thing. Running tests, examining evidence. You know, science.’

Kasie knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t stop herself. Thankfully, it only made Agent Hammond’s smile widen.

‘Okay, well do you mind if I stay with you for a while? I need some space to think.’

‘Sure, make yourself at home.’ Kasie pulled out some lab stools so they could sit at the table. ‘I could do with a break too.’

‘Are you hungry? We could go grab some snacks?’ Agent Hammond suggested. ‘I know government vending machines aren’t exactly imaginative, but it’ll be something.’

‘Yes to snacks, but I have something better than a vending machine.’ Kasie jumped up and moved to one of the cupboards, pulling out a box labelled **Hazardous Materials**. When she spotted the concerned expression on the agent’s face, she offered her a reassuring smile. ‘This is only a precaution to keep Ellie from stealing my stash.’

Kasie placed the box down on the table and opened up to reveal her stash of snacks, from big bags of potato chips to different varieties of Oreos. Agent Hammond stared at the contents in awe before she started wading through like a kid at Christmas.

‘Wow your team must really love you.’

‘They do, but they have no idea this exists, so I trust you to keep my secret.’

The blonde agent mimed zipping her mouth shut before she pulled out the golden Oreos. ‘These are my favourite! May I?’

‘Yeah sure.’ Kasie watched her begin to open the packet, a little create forming between her eyebrows as she struggled. ‘Here, let me.’

Agent Hammond smiled apologetically as she handed the packet over. ‘Sorry, guess I have slippery fingers today, which probably isn’t the best thing in our line of work.’

‘Hey, these things can be tricky,’ Kasie reassured, though she opened the packet with ease. She was about to pass it back when the agents phone rang. With another apologetic smile, Agent Hammond checked the screen and answered it.

‘Sir…Okay, I’ll be right there…No, I’m still at NCIS…Okay I’ll be there in five.’ She put down the phone and sighed. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go. They have a lead on where Cormack might be.’

‘Well at least we might get home sometime tonight then,’ Kasie joked before she held out the open packet to her. ‘Some Oreos for the road.’

Agent Hammond grinned and took a couple. ‘Thanks, so I guess I’ll see you soon, Ms Hines.’

Kasie watched the agent head towards the door, and before she could stop herself, she called after her. ‘Hey.’

Agent Hammond whirled around and stared back at her with fond eyes.

Kasie shifted awkwardly on the spot. ‘Erm, you can call me Kasie if you want.’

‘Okay Kasie,’ Agent Hammond smirked. ‘But only if you call me Carrie.’

And with one last blinding smile, the beautiful agent was gone. Kasie quickly got back to work, this time with a smile plastered on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW// food, alcohol, mild mentions of homophobia

Once Gibbs finally let them all go home (after Jack put her foot down), Kasie crashed almost as soon as she got through the door of her apartment, and arrived at the Navy Yard the next morning with less energy than she had the night before.

She made her way over to the coffee kart, in desperate need of caffeine and fresh air. It was a fine day by DC standards: cool but sunny enough to warrant sitting on a bench outside with her jacket wrapped around her and the coffee-filled paper cup warming her palms. And what chill did manage to touch her was enough to keep herself awake and focused on her busy day ahead.

She was so busy thinking of all the possible things she could try to get any more clues from Cormack’s stupid jacket that she didn’t notice someone had approached her until they spoke.

‘Hey Kasie.’

Kasie blinked and looked up to see Special Agent Carrie Hammond stood before her, an identical coffee cup in one hand and what looked like breakfast muffin in the other. In the morning sunlight, her hair shimmered, and though the scientist in her knew it was just a trick of the light, Kasie still found herself captivated by the agent’s glow. A glow only brightened by her wide smile.

‘Hey,’ she managed to reply. ‘Did you manage to get home last night?’

‘Yeah, at like two in the morning,’ Carrie said with a sigh as she sat beside her on the bench. ‘I think our bosses pulled an all-nighter. If it wasn’t for Agent Sloane, we’d have been there all night.’

‘Well Jack could probably get Gibbs to do anything,’ Kasie said without thinking, only to quickly regret it. ‘I mean…’

‘Don’t worry, Bishop already filled me in on the Gibbs-Sloane situation. And if you want my opinion, it’s pretty obvious they have a thing.’

‘Yep, they think they’re so discreet, but it’s so painfully obvious.’

They both laughed, attracting a few looks from the stricter residence of the Navy Yard, but Kasie Hines had never cared much what people thought and Carrie didn’t seem phased either, so carried on as they were.

‘So how are you liking the team?’

‘They’re great,’ Carrie grinned. ‘Gibbs is awesome, and Sloane is total goals, then of course Bishop, Torres and McGee are cool, and hilarious. You’re still my favourite though.’

‘I am?’

‘Duh, you’re like the Velma Dinkley of the team.’

Kasie let out a sharp laugh. ‘Gee thanks.’

‘Hey, that was a compliment. Velma was always my favourite.’

With another laugh, Kasie shook her head and looked down at the cup in her hands. She was about to ask the boring question of how the case was going when she heard Carrie gasp. Looking up, she spotted the blonde staring at one of the service dogs being walked by.

‘Oh isn’t that the cutest thing ever. Look at their jacket!’

‘You know that dog could probably drop you in a heartbeat, right?’ Kasie point out, and Carrie shrugged.

‘And I’d instantly forgive them.’

‘Are you sure you’re a special agent?’

Carrie tore her eyes away from the dog to meet Kasie’s gaze, a playful gleam in her eyes. ‘I can both love dogs and be a total badass, you know?’

‘I’d be more concerned if you couldn’t.’ Kasie reached for her phone and pulled up a photo from her last meet up with Dante. ‘This is Theo. He’s a handful, but I love him.’

Carrie smiled at the photo, dimples appearing on the edge of her lips. ‘He’s adorable, and so are you. And you boyfriend is very handsome.’

‘What?’ Kasie turned the phone and saw it was a selfie of her, Dante and Theo. ‘Oh no, he’s just a friend. My best friend. I mean, I do love him, but not like that. More like a brother. Definitely _not_ my boyfriend.’

‘Okay, sorry I shouldn’t have assumed.’ A blush appeared on Carrie’s cheeks, but Kasie was sure she seemed brighter than she had before.

‘It’s okay,’ Kasie shrugged, but Carrie shook her head.

‘No, it used to drive me crazy when people would assume my girlfriend was my just a friend, or worse a sister. I can imagine it’s the same the other way round.’

_Wait girlfriend?_

‘Oh, you have a girlfriend?’ Kasie was sure her voice was higher than usual, but pushed through it, trying to process the joy of finding out Special Agent Hammond liked girls and the simultaneous disappointment that she was spoken for. Though she was probably stupid to assume…

‘Ex-girlfriend. Ended like a year ago. Since then, I don’t know I guess I want to find my forever person, or at least someone who at least won’t string me along like an idiot. I mean I’ve been on a few dates, but online dating is so messy and awkward.’

‘Oh my God, yes. The first dates are so cringe with the small talk and you know there’s no spark, and they know there’s no spark, but you have to kind of get on with it anyway.’

‘Yeah, I mean at least when you meet someone in the real world you know if there’s that connection there. Also it doesn’t help that I’ve worked too many cases of people misrepresenting themselves online. Sometimes it’s hard to get to know someone when you’re eyeing them up like a suspect.’

Kasie nodded in agreement. ‘But then if you meet someone like in a coffee shop, you’d probably be the same. Like I’d want to do a full background check to make sure they weren’t some criminal or spy trying to get information.’

‘The joys of being crime fighters and justice seekers,’ Carrie exclaimed dramatically, before she checked her watch. ‘Speaking of which, I best get back before our bosses have another meltdown.’

‘Okay.’ Kasie tried her best not to sound disappointed. She wanted to stay in that moment just a little bit longer, them both just sat on the bench with their coffees on a fine DC day. Yet when Carrie got to her feet, she knew it was definitely over.

‘I’ll see you later?’

‘Yep,’ Kasie nodded. ‘See ya later.’

She watched Carrie walk away, smiling back when the agent looked back over her shoulder to her. Once she was out of view, Kasie sighed.

‘Yep, I definitely need a girlfriend.’

Jimmy was wiping down the autopsy tables when Kasie wondered in, and like always he greeted her with a smile.

‘Hey Kasie, how are ya?’

‘I’m a mess, Jimmy.’ She moved to sit in his desk chair. ‘I’ve gone over every piece of evidence and I can’t find anything that helps narrow down where Cormack may be hiding, Gibbs keeps being all demanding, I’m pretty sure I have a little crush on one of the FBI agents, there’s none of my favourite snack bar in the vending machine…’

‘Okay rewind,’ Jimmy interrupted her. ‘You have a crush on one of the FBI agents?’

‘Well not like a proper crush,’ Kasie quickly clarified. ‘I mean I only met her yesterday but she’s nice and pretty and I like talking to her. I guess I’m just a bit lost with the whole prospect of romance right now.’

‘Or you could actually like her,’ Jimmy pointed out. ‘I knew I liked Breena pretty much straight away.’

‘Yeah but that’s different. You two are like soulmates…’

‘And she could be yours,’ he argued, only to hold his hands up in defence when she glared. ‘I’m just saying you don’t know unless you try.’

‘Yeah well maybe I don’t want to humiliate myself at work by gushing over a girl who’s way out of my league.’

‘Is she…’

‘She has an ex-girlfriend, yes.’

‘Then there you have it,’ Jimmy grinned, laughing when she threw some crumpled-up paper at him. ‘Just get to know her. Seriously, you never know.’

‘Fine, I’ll keep an open mind. But there’s no way she would like me back.’

Jimmy laughed again and shook his head. ‘I’m she will find _The_ Kasie Hines pretty irresistible.’

After she had once again gone over Cormack’s jacket with every piece of equipment her lab had to offer, Kasie headed up to the squad room to see if there were any new clues she could work with. Yet there, instead of finding the team hard at work, she found Tim and Nick stood in front of Ellie’s desk, Ellie sat in her chair while no other Carrie Hammond perched on the corner of the desk, all smiling and laughing.

Carrie noticed her first and stood up from the desk, greeting her with a megawatt smile. ‘Hey, I was worried I wouldn’t see you again today.’

‘My lab door is always open,’ Kasie replied, trying her best not to blush as she addressed the group as a whole. ‘Where’s Gibbs?’

Ellie smirked mischievously. ‘Guess.’

‘Jack’s office?’

‘Yep.’

‘They’re definitely together, right?’ Nick piped up.

‘Maybe we’re just being hopeful?’ Tim argued. ‘Sure, they’re close, but would Gibbs really break his own rules, even when it comes to Jack?’

Kasie rolled her eyes while Ellie let out a dismissive snort.

‘What do you think, Agent Hammond?’ Nick asked. ‘You’re the outsider looking in. Do you think they’re a thing?’

‘Oh, they’re definitely together.’ The agent’s eyes then shifted to Kasie, a small smile appearing on her lips. ‘You can tell by the way he looks at her.’

Kasie could feel the others looking between them, but she held Carrie’s teel gaze and offered a smile of her own. She saw Nick open his mouth to say something when a shrill ringtone broke up the moment. Carrie pulled out her phone and checked the ID.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Carrie excused herself, already stepping away from the group. ‘Give me a shout if Gibbs comes back down’

Once the FBI agent had moved out of earshot, all eyes shifted to Kasie.

Ellie got up from her chair. ‘Okay, what was that?’

‘What was what?’

‘Oh you know what,’ Nick teased. ‘You could have cut the tension there with a knife.’

‘We just smiled at each other.’

‘Come on, Kase,’ Tim chuckled. ‘Even I know that wasn’t just a smile.’

Kasie shook her head in disbelief. ‘I can’t even with you guys.’

Nick opened his mouth for what was likely another teasing remark, but before he could finish, Gibbs voice boomed from the floor above. ‘Are you all working or gossiping?’

They all looked up to see him loitering at the top of the stairs with Jack stood beside him. A little too close for “just friends” in Kasie’s opinion, but before she could think too much into it, Carrie was back, grinning from ear to ear.

‘What’s got you smiling?’ Gibbs asked as he left Jack at the top of the stairs and made his way down to join them. Carrie’s smile quickly ironed into a professional neutrality and stood to attention as their team leader approached her.

‘My boss has been assigned to another of our ongoing cases but has asked me to stay on with your team as a liaison. If that is alright with you, Agent Gibbs.’

Gibbs stared her down for a few moments like he always seemed to do with newcomers. Kasie had always figured it was a test of character and strength, and by the way he smiled when Carrie held her own, it seemed she had passed.

‘Okay, you go with Bishop and interview Cormack’s ex-girlfriend. See if she knows any old hideouts he might be using again. I’ll have a desk sorted for when you get back.

‘On it, boss,’ she responded, moving to pick up what looked like her go-bag from beside Ellie’s desk.

McGee, Torres, you’re with me,’ Gibbs spoke up again as he too grabbed his things. ‘We’re going to canvas his neighbourhood again, see if we missed anything. And Agent Hammond?’

‘Yes, boss?’

‘Ditch the heels.’

Carrie let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God, I hate dressing so formal.’

‘Why don’t we stop home on the way to visit the ex?’ Ellie suggested and Carrie agreed without hesitation.

‘That sounds like a great idea.’ Carrie then turned her attention to Kasie, her smile creasing the corners of her eyes in the most adorable way. She placed a hand on her arm, and Kasie was sure her breath hitched just a little bit. ‘I guess that means I’ll see you later?’

Kasie could do nothing but smile like an idiot and nod along. Carrie continued to smile at her as she moved away, only breaking their shared gaze once her hand had slid reluctantly from the scientist’s sleeve.

Kasie watched as she joined the team and squeezed into the elevator with them, fitting in with ease, like another piece of their ever-evolving unit. Once the elevator doors closed, her gaze drifted upwards to where Jack remained stood on the top landing, watching her closely.

Jack tilted her head questioningly, to which Kasie replied with a shrug before turning on her heel and making her way back down to the sanctuary of her lab.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW// food, alcohol, mild mentions of homophobia

The ex-girlfriend pointed them towards an old storage unit Cormack kept under his uncle’s name, and, once Tim worked his magic and Director Vance made some calls, they had the location and warrant permitting them to search.

When they got there, Cormack and the loot had gone, but he had left the getaway van behind, which was better than nothing. So the car was brought to the NCIS garage, and Kasie set to the task of searching for any scrap of evidence they could work with.

She was in the middle of cataloguing the latest lot of fingerprints she had found on the steering wheel, which like the others matched Cormack’s. Kasie wasn’t sure if he was too stupid to clean up his evidence or was certain he wouldn’t be caught, let alone prosecuted. Seeing where they currently were in the investigation, she leaned. towards the latter.

Just as she was about to get back in the van, the elevator doors dinged open and Nick wandered out with Carrie Hammond trailing behind him carrying two coffees. She smiled when she saw Kasie and quickly moved over to hand her one of the coffees.

‘Here, I’ve heard forensics is thirsty work.’

‘Thanks.’ Kasie took a sip and blinked in surprise at the familiar taste

‘I asked the coffee guy to make your usual order,’ Carrie explained, before taking a sip of her own.

Kasie cleared her throat and shifted her attention to Nick, who was looking between the two women suspiciously. ‘So, what brought you two down here?’

‘Hammond wanted to see how you were doing,’ Nick answered. ‘And I wanted to check out this sick ride.’

‘Sick ride?’ Kasie looked at the van with a grimace. ‘It’s a piece of trash.’

Nick gasped dramatically. ‘Okay it doesn’t look the best but the engine on this thing is a thing of beauty. This thing has some serious speed.’

‘That’s probably why they chose it,’ Carrie added as she studied the van with her hands on her hips. Kasie took in her new outfit; sensible ankle boots, black jeans, and a fitted maroon sweater, fitting to the NCIS work attire. And admittedly, she looked pretty good.

Kasie quickly snapped herself out of her thoughts and cleared her throat. ‘Well it’s definitely Cormack’s. I’ll have to run them to be sure, but I’m pretty sure all the fingerprints I’ve lifted are his. She showed them one of the samples compared to Cormack’s print from the FBI database.

Nick squinted at the two prints. ‘How can you even tell?’

‘They both have that little swirl at the bottom,’ Carrie pointed out. ‘And that line at the top.’

‘Good eye,’ Kasie praised, and Nick made a show of rolling his eyes.

‘Okay, okay, so is there anywhere else you need to look?’

‘Yep, and for that I need an assistant.’

‘I’ll help,’ Carrie offered instantly and picked up a pair of forensic gloves. ‘What do you need me to do?’

‘We know Cormack had at least one accomplice, and from what I can tell, this guy wore gloves both at the bank, and in the car. But even in good traffic, it’s nearly an hour drive from the bank to the storage locker, and who knows how long the drive to the bank from their hide out was? So if we’re lucky, he took his gloves off for at least a moment in those two journeys and left his prints somewhere. Now if you climb into passenger’s side, Special Agent Hammond, we can see about the possible places these prints could be hiding.’

‘Why of course, Ms Hines,’ Carrie teased as she walked towards the car. ‘Anything in the name of justice.’

‘You two are such nerds,’ Nick commented as he followed them. ‘Why am I the only cool person around here?’

‘Say that in front of Gibbs next time,’ Carrie challenged, and Kasie could help but laugh at the look of horror on Nick’s face.

Once Carrie had climbed into the passenger seat and Kasie the drivers, they began their investigation.

‘Okay from here, I can reach the radio and the interior light, Carrie noted. ‘I’m guessing you’ve already checked in the glove compartment?’

‘Yep, nothing but a load of old parking tickets. If all else fails, I’m going to use them to pinpoint places the car has been parked up to see if I can narrow a possible search area.’

‘Get Mcgee to do that,’ Nick said from where he loitered by the passenger door. ‘He’s itching to do some computer stuff.’

‘I will if I find something else for me to do,’ Kasie replied. ‘Any ideas on where else his fingerprints could be?’

‘The seat adjuster?’

‘Tried that. Nothing.’

‘Come on, there must be something else.’ Carrie reached under the seat. ‘There’s no way they sat in this car together and didn’t leave one…’

‘What?’ Kasie asked as she watched Carrie reach further under the seat, biting her bottom lip in concentration. There was a scraping sound, then she pulled her hand out, a gleam of silver in her grasp.

Carrie held up the flask and grinned. ‘Bingo.’

The flask had a partial fingerprint and the rim had enough DNA for Kasie to do a search. It was the break they had been looking for and once Kasie loaded them up ready to search every criminal database NCIS could access, they all waited with bated breath for their next lead.

That had been four hours ago, and so far, there had been nothing. The rest of the team had gone to do paperwork and to help Tim with his parking ticket search radius, leaving Kasie sat on the floor of her lab on a blanket she kept in case of a long night, as this one was proving to be. She leant back against the cabinet behind her and rested her eyes as she waited for her computer to ding.

She was on the verge of drifting off to sleep when the sound of the elevator brough her back to reality. Kasie opened her eyes and looked to the door in time to see Special Agent Carrie Hammond wander in with two brown paper bags in one hand and the other raised in a greeting wave.

‘Hey, we got some sandwiches to go from the diner. I thought you might be hungry, so…’

She moved over and handed one of the bags to Kasie, who looked inside and smiled at the sight of her favourite order. ‘How did you…’

‘Ellie told me that was your favourite,’ Carrie explained. ‘She also insisted I bring it down for you personally, though I was planning to come see you anyway. Any progress?’

‘Nothing yet,’ Kasie sighed. ‘So I’m just sat here, you know, waiting.’

Carrie looked around the lab, nibbling nervously on her bottom lip. ‘Can I wait with you?’

‘Sure,’ Kasie shifted over so the agent could sit beside her. ‘Is Gibbs making you all stay?’

‘We all decided to stay. Gibbs is camped up in Jack’s office and the team are lounging by their desks. As for me, I wanted to see how my favourite forensic scientist is doing.’

‘I’m your favourite after two days?’ Kasie couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I must be pretty impressive.’

‘You certainly are, and I’m sure if I knew like a hundred forensic scientists, you’d still be right at the top.’

Kasie felt her cheeks heat and quickly distracted herself with pulling her sandwich out of the bag. She noticed Carrie do the same, and for a while they sat in comfortable silence. Eventually though, she could feel her companion get fidgety and decided it was time for some small talk.

‘So what would you be doing if you weren’t stuck here all night?’

‘Not much,’ Carrie shrugged. ‘When I’m off work, I like to just chill at home, doing hobbies and stuff. But after a day like today, I would probably just lounge on the sofa channel surfing until I finally fell sleep. What about you?’

‘Probably the same. Sometimes work can be so draining, it’s hard to have much of a life outside of it.’

‘But you do, right?’

‘I guess.’ Kasie said between bites of her sandwich. ‘I go out with Ellie and Jack sometimes, and me and Jimmy hangout but he has his own family, you know, and I see Ducky to help with his research. I even joined the NCIS bowling team, but as much as I love the friendly competition, I miss back in the day when I’d hang out at the bowling alley with my friends and hit the arcade before going to grab a pizza slice. You know, back when everything seemed easier. When there was no criminals and crime scene evidence circling in my brain, and I could just go out with friends then go home and my dad…’

She stopped herself there, unable to quite continue.

‘When did you lose him?’

Kasie blinked and looked to Carrie in surprise. ‘How…’

‘I know that look. I usually have the same one.’

‘Oh.’ Kasie swallowed sharply. ‘He died a few years ago. The Christmas before I joined NCIS. What about yours?’

‘I was fifteen. Sudden heart attack.’

‘Mine too.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Huh.’

They sat quietly again, finishing off their sandwiches as the weight of their conversation began to lessen, evolving back into, if not comfortable, but understanding silence. Once they had both finished eating and sat there doing nothing for a good five minutes, Kasie decided it was time to speak up again.

‘So what do you do for fun?’

‘Well I see my friends, I paint, I look after my plants, which does take up a lot of my time.’

‘How many plants do you have?’

‘At the moment, twenty-seven?’

Kasie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Carrie quickly laughed. ‘I know, I’m a plant mom. I can’t help it. Their health and happiness mean the world to me.’

Kasie couldn’t help but smile. That was sweet in its own adorably weird kind of way. ‘So what, is your apartment like an indoor arboretum?’

‘Kind of. Ellie helped me water them all when we stopped by my place earlier and she said it was like a rainforest. I let her water the bigger plants while I dealt with the succulents. Some of them are a little fussy. Especially Bernard.’

‘You named you plants?’

Carrie gave her a look that clearly said “duh”. ‘Hello, plant mom of the year over here.’

Kasie started to laugh but it quickly turned into a wide yawn.

‘I see all the plant talk wore you out,’ Carrie teased.

‘That and the fact I’ve barely slept in the last 48 hours,’ Kasie said before yawning again. ‘But I need to stay awake. At least until the results come in.’

‘You can sleep. I’ll wait.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Yeah,’ Carrie insisted. ‘I’m too wired to sleep anyway.’

Kasie considered the offer for a moment, before shaking her head. ‘No, I’ll keep awake with you.’

Carrie laughed softly. ‘Okay sleepyhead, let’s see how that goes.’

The next think Kasie knew, her cheek was pressed against soft fabric with a hand wrapped around her waist, while Gibbs’ bark brought her out of a heavy slumber.

‘Hammond. Kasie. Up.’

Her eyes opened and she took in her position. She was still on the blanket laid out on the floor, yet the room was lit with the sharp light of morning, and instead of sitting up by herself she was leaning into Carrie, her head on her shoulder and arms wrapped around the agent’s waist. The blonde’s arm flung around her was light but was still enough to hold them both up in their accidental slumber.

Carrie’s eyes blinked open reluctantly, yet even when she was funny alert, she didn’t pull her arm away. ‘Agent Gibbs. Agent McGee.’

Kasie frowned as her gaze followed Carrie’s to where Tim McGee loitered awkwardly in the doorway of the lab.

‘Sleeping on the job, I see.’ Gibbs’ tone was disciplinary, but Kasie could see the amusement in his eyes. ‘But I see you got some news for me.’

Kasie blinked at him in confusion, and it was only then she noticed the beeping coming from her computer. Her eyes widened as she pulled away from Carrie and scrambled to her feet.

‘We got a match!’

‘We did?’ Carrie jumped up and joined her at the monitor just in time for Kasie to bring up the results.

‘Jasper Woodgrave. Twenty-three, a DC local with a record for a string of petty crimes and one count of armed robbery.’

‘What was the robbery?’ Gibbs asked.

‘A bank in Pennsylvania. He got arrested pretty much straight away. He got a four-year sentence but was let out a year early with good behaviour.’

‘Three years is a lot of time to work out what he could have done differently,’ Carrie commented, and Gibbs nodded in agreement.

‘What’s his address?’

‘His parole address is his mother’s house, but in accordance with said parole, he put his cell number as a point of contact, and according to records, he was scheduled to speak to his parole officer yesterday.’

Gibbs nodded again, this time in acknowledgement. ‘McGee, track down the parole officer. Hammond, you’re coming with me to talk to the mom. Kasie, go home and get some actual rest. Agent Hammond is not your pillow.’

Kasie raised her eyebrows at the comment, the only thing soothing her embarrassment being Carrie’s light laugh as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

‘I don’t mind being your pillow, but you should do what he says before he takes it back.’

With one last smile, Carrie followed Gibbs out of the lab, leaving Kasie alone with Tim. He looked to Kasie in amazement.

‘Kase, we were only joking before…’

‘Timothy…’

‘But you and Agent Hammond…’

‘Don’t say it!’

‘Totally have a thing!’

Kasie groaned and slapped her hand against her forehead, ignoring Tim’s hearty laughter. She knew she was never going to hear the end of this.

And she didn’t.

When she returned to work after an hours nap at home, refreshing shower, and a new (particularly thought about) change of outfit, she found out Tim had been quick to tell Nick and Ellie what happened that morning. And of course Nick had to rush down to tell Jimmy and Ducky while Ellie raced up to Jack’s office. Soon enough the whole team knew that Kasie Hines, esteemed forensic scientists, fell asleep in her lab cuddling an FBI agent.

She had a feeling either Jimmy or Ducky would be in her lab wanting to talk, and the squad room was a no go because Nick was on top teasing form, so she headed for Jack’s office.

Jack was reading a file when she walked in, which was almost instantly discarded. ‘Kasie, I was hoping to see you. Will you shut the door?’

Kasie sighed but did as she was told. Out of all the options of discussing what Tim had blabbed to the entire agency, the best was definitely with Jacqueline Sloane.

‘Come sit.’ Jack gestured to the chair on the other side of her desk. ‘Now, what is it I’ve been hearing about you and Agent Hammond.’

Kasie growled in annoyance as she slumped into the chair. ‘McGee is making a bigger deal out of it than it is. We were sat talking and we were both exhausted and we both fell asleep. That’s it.’

‘Okay, okay.’ Jack held up her hands in defence. ‘I’m sure it was all innocent, but why do you think the team have come to this conclusion about you and Agent Hammond?’

‘Because they’re a bunch of gossips and Ellie is obsessed with finding me a girlfriend.’

‘But you said you wanted a girlfriend last week.’

‘I know I did but this is different.’ Kasie got up from her chair and began to pace. ‘They all need to butt out. You know, I’m trying to do my job and I can’t do that if everyone is trying to set me up with the person we’re meant to be working with. Like come on, one wrong word in front of Gibbs and I’m in deep trouble.’

Jack rolled her eyes. ‘If he says anything, I’ll talk to him.’

‘But it’s not just Gibbs,’ Kasie huffed. ‘You know Nick can’t keep his mouth shut, and if he says something in front of Ca-I mean Agent Hammond that makes her uncomfortable. I mean yeah, we’re meant to work together, but I do really…’

A knock on the door interrupted her before she could finish.

‘Who is it?’ Jack called out, her voice fonder and more welcoming than most people would be at such an interruption. Kasie herself was relieved that she had been stopped before she said something she maybe shouldn’t. That was until a familiar voice responded through the door.

‘It’s Agent Hammond. Gibbs asked me to bring you some files.’

Kasie’s wasn’t sure whether her heart jumped in panic or excitement, but by the time the door fully opened, she was smiling. Mostly because Special Agent Carrie Hammond stood in the doorway of Jack’s office in an oversized NCIS hoodie and sweats with her wet hair tied back in a ponytail, a few damp strands hanging in front of her face.

‘What happened to you?’ she asked, and Carrie bowed her head in embarresment, tucking the rogue strands behind her ear.

‘We found Woodgrave at his mom’s place, which backs on to a horse stable. Let’s just say, his getaway was both unsuccessful and very messy.’

Kasie wrinkled her nose in disgust. ‘That explains the wet hair.’

‘Yeah, luckily Nick had some shampoo in his desk and Ellie found me some clothes. I’m just about to head home to get another shower and a quick change while Nick and McGee try clean up Woodgrave for interrogation.’

‘Ah the joys of working for NCIS,’ Jack chimed in. ‘So what is it Gibbs wants me to look at?’

‘Woodgrave’s parole officer’s notes.’ Carrie placed the file on Jack’s desk. ‘He wants you to give it a read then meet him in the observation room.’

‘Right.’ Jack slipped her glasses on and opened the file. ‘Do you think he’s going to give up his friend?’

‘Not easily. He has barely said a word since he came in, other than demanding a shower.’

Kasie then noticed Carrie’s eyes zone on something in the corner of the office and a bright smile appeared on her face. ‘Oh aren’t you gorgeous.’ She moved over to the plant and stroked its leaves. ‘What’s their name?’

‘Their name?’ Jack frowned. ‘I don’t think they have one.’

‘Oh they most definitely have one. All mine have names.’

‘All?’

‘Agent Hammond is an expert plant mom,’ Kasie explained to the confused psychologist. ‘To all twenty-seven of them.’

Carrie turned her attention away from the plant to face her, beaming from ear to ear. ‘You remembered?’

‘Yeah, it was a pretty memorable conversation.’ Kasie shoved her hands in the pockets of her baggy plaid trousers. A movement Carrie seemed to notice.

‘You look nice,’ she commented. ‘I mean you looked great yesterday, and the day before too. I really like your outfit. You know with the pants, and that stripy jumper, and the little necktie scarf. You look totally cool.’

The agent’s cheeks had noticeably reddened, adding to her adorableness, and the next think Kasie knew, she was voicing just that. ‘You look pretty adorable yourself.’

Carrie bowed her head again, this time shyly as she bit down on her lip. ‘Thanks, but I guess it’s not very professional, and I’m wearing the wrong agency’s insignia.’

‘Don’t let Gibbs hear you say that,’ Jack commented, startling Kasie a little. For a moment, she had totally forgotten Sloane was there.

‘Agent Gibbs said NCIS suits me,’ Carrie commented, causing both Kasie and Jack to stare at her with raised eyebrows. ‘He didn’t say like that!’ She quickly protested. ‘He said I fit in well, you know, with the team.’

Kasie was sure she saw Jack relax a little before she pointed to the lollipop jar on her desk. ‘Here, pick a colour, any colour.’

Carrie studied the jar for a few moments before she looked to Kasie. ‘You pick for me.’

‘Erm, Carrie, I don’t think that’s the point…’

‘No, no,’ Jack insisted. ‘That’s totally fine.’

Kasie eyed Jack suspiciously before she looked to the jar and almost immediately picked out a yellow one. ‘Here you go.’

Carrie took the lollipop from her and clutched it close to her chest. ‘Thank you. Now I best get going. Thanks for the lollipop, Agent Sloane.’

‘Anytime, and please call me Jack.’

Carrie gave them both a blinding smile before she left the room and shut the door being her. After a moment of silence, Jack let out a long sigh.

‘I’m sorry, Kasie, but I have to agree with the others.’

‘Oh come on, Jack!’

‘I’m not pushing but I will say I noticed something there.’

‘But there isn’t,’ Kasie insisted. ‘At least not on her side.’

Jack jolted upright. ‘So you do feel there’s something there?’

‘Oh my gosh.’ Kasie pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep calm. ‘I totally take back all the times we’ve pestered you about your thing with Gibbs. It’s not fun at all.’

‘It’s not,’ Jack admitted. ‘But also not entirely off base…’

‘Wait what?’

‘What?’

Kasie narrowed her eyes at Jack’s deflection and was about to begin an interrogation of her own when her phone dinged. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was a message from Abby.

_So what’s this I’ve heard about you sleeping with an FBI agent??_

‘Oh come on!’


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW// food, alcohol, mild mentions of homophobia

After being teased to high heaven by Nick, Ellie and Tim and being plagued by Jimmy, Jack, and Ducky’s chorus of “just talk to her”, Kasie shut herself in her lab. She had refused to look at her phone since Director Vance sent her a message stating she would need to fill in a form regarding inter-agency dating, and even locked her door for a while until Gibbs threatened to kick it down.

The day had been long and filled with frustration, and with the accomplice refusing to give up Cormack, she was left bored too. It was getting late, and she wondered if she could get away with heading home, though deep down she knew she shouldn’t. If Gibbs came down and saw she was gone, rumours of inter-agency dating would be the least of her worries.

She was too busy considering the pros and cons of such a risk when there was a knock on her door. With a heavy sigh, she called saying they could come in and when the door opened, Kasie’s stomach dropped.

There stood Carrie Hammond in a smart peach button up and jeans, her blonde hair pulled back by a cute black hairband, with grey sneakers on her feet. Kasie tried her best to compose herself, but with the weight of the day still laying heavy on her, she couldn’t help but stare at the vision before her.

‘Hi,’ Carrie entered, her hands clasped in front of her. ‘Gibbs is interrogating Woodgrave again. Jack and McGee are staying, but Nick and Ellie have gone with Jimmy and Ducky for dinner, and I thought maybe we could go for some too.’

‘Oh okay.’ In all honesty, a team dinner wasn’t the first thing she would rather do when she was practically dead on her feet, especially when she would have to deal with teasing and knowing looks the whole time. But almost anything would beat being stuck at the Navy Yard another moment, so she quickly retrieved her coat and bag. ‘Let me guess, Ducky booked a table and that literary-themed restaurant again?’

Carrie’s smiled faltered. ‘Actually, I thought we could go somewhere just us. Ellie said you seemed a bit down earlier, so I booked somewhere and, you know, went home and changed _again_ so I didn’t look like a total killjoy for where we’re going.’

Kasie stared at her, not really sure what to think, or rather desperately trying not to think too much. It was just colleagues wanting to relax after a stressful case, she logically told herself, but that didn’t stop _it’s a date it’s a date_ ringing in her ears.

She weighed the implications of both possibilities and decided, really, neither could hurt.

‘Can I at least know where we’re going?’

Carrie’s smile reappeared as she reached out for the scientist’s hand. ‘It’s a surprise. Now come on before Gibbs catches us.’

Kasie chuckled as she let the agent drag her from her lab, switching off the light as passed.

A short car ride later, Dani pulled into a large parking lot and Kasie instantly clocked on to the agents plan.

‘We’re going bowling?’

‘Yep, I’ve got three games booked. Whoever wins buys dinner.’

‘Okay, I hope you’re ready to pay because you’re looking at the NCIS bowling team’s secret weapon.’

‘And I took my dad’s place on his precinct’s bowling team, and that’s like Big Lebowski level competitive.’

Kasie filled that piece of information away for later and instead raised a challenging eyebrow. ‘Alright then, let’s do this.’

The bowling alley interior was lit up with neon signs and the flashing lights of the arcade area opposite the eating area. Kasie took in her surroundings as Carrie sorted out their booking and got their bowling shoes.

‘How did you know my size?’ Kasie asked as she took the shoes. Carrie smirked in response.

‘Little birdy told me.’

Kasie had a feeling that birdy went by the name Eleanor Bishop, but she decided to let it slide, instead focusing on the awesomeness surrounding them. ‘How did I not know about this place existed?’

‘I think it’s new,’ Carrie answered, leading the way to their lane. ‘This is my first time too. I just googled bowling places and saw it had an arcade, so I can defend my champions title with a round of Ski-ball and a fun game of Ms. Pac-Man.’

‘We’ll see about that,’ Kasie said with a chuckle, and Carrie laughed along with her.

It took a few plays for Kasie to realise Carrie wasn’t all talk. She may have been a bit rusty, but the technique was there, and her skill grew along with her confidence each time she rolled the ball. Halfway through the first game, they were pretty much neck and neck on points, and when the agent was the first to score a strike, Kasie hoped she had enough money in her wallet to pay for her defeat.

Still, it was all worth it to see Carrie jumping around like an excitable child at her little victory.

‘Did you see that? Did you see that?! I forgot how much fun bowling was!’

Kasie laughed and picked up one of the bowling balls ready for her go. ‘It’s especially fun when you’re winning.’

‘Come on, I can see you’re skilled,’ Carrie complimented, sending a blush to the scientist’s cheeks. ‘I’m sure you’ll be miles ahead in no time.’

Kasie laughed again before she sent the ball rolling down the lane and got a strike of her own.

Though not miles ahead, Kasie did win the first match, and Carrie seemed particularly happy about it. The second game was closer still, with Kasie beginning strong but Carrie coming back with a vengeance in the latter half. With one last round each, they were neck and neck, one point putting Kasie in the lead.

Carrie bowled first, getting a spare then a strike on her third go. All Kasie needed was to do the same and she would win their little wager with a game to spare. But that would mean their little contest would be over and, when she saw Carrie waiting nervously for the final result, she decided she wasn’t quite ready for it to be over yet. So, putting on a show of concentration, and managed to knock over three pins on the right end, only to send her second ball down the side channel.

Carrie gave her a reassuring smile that quickly grew into a mischievous grin. ‘That makes two games each. Third game decides it all.’

Kasie smiled at Carrie’s giddiness. It was hard to believe that the woman dancing at the fact she won at bowling was a kickass federal agent, but if working for NCIS had taught her anything it was that special agents came in all shapes and sizes. This one just so happened to come in an adorable, bubbly, beautiful, plant-loving shape, and it was near mesmerising.

‘Kasie?’

Kasie blinked out of her thoughts to find Carrie stood before her, concern in her eyes. Glancing up at the screen, she saw Carrie had already taken her first go of the next game and had managed to once again get herself a spare.

‘Sorry, I was…daydreaming,’ Kasie shrugged it off as she moved to pick up a ball from the rack.

Carrie followed close behind and paused Kasie’s movements with a light hand on her upper arm. ‘If you’re tired, we can call it quits.’

Kasie scoffed at that. ‘Please, and let you win that easy. In your dreams, special agent.’

About half way through the game, she stopped aiming for the top scores and tried to get her go over as soon as possible so she could watch Carrie’s hopeful shots that either ended in a happy jump or a cute little shrug. Once they got to go ten, Carrie had pretty much won, and with yet again a spare and a strike, even three strikes wouldn’t get Kasie in the lead. So instead, she decided to challenge herself to do just that, just to see if she could.

‘Have you ever done it before?’ Carrie asked, her victory in their little tournament quickly forgotten.

‘Once,’ Kasie answered as she eyed the pins at the end of the lane challengingly. ‘That was an accident though.’

‘Well I have faith in you.’ And with that, Carrie leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. ‘Good luck.’

Kasie faltered, blinking rapidly to make sure she hadn’t just imagined that. But no, she could still feel the warm press of Carrie’s lips against her cheek, and it took all her willpower not to reach up touch it.

Racing forward in an attempt to hide her blush, she centred her attention on the pins and lined up her swing just right before finally sending the ball hurtling down the lane. When all the pins fell down, she held her hands up victory.

Carrie whistled behind her. ‘One down!’

‘Two to go,’ Kasie shrugged it off as she got another ball. If anything, the good luck kiss had messed with her mojo, though she wouldn’t take it back no matter the outcome.

She rolled the ball with less force this time and for a moment Kasie thought that would be that, but once again all the pins fell down.

‘YES!’ Carrie clapped loudly. ‘Only one more. You can do it!’

Kasie picked up a third ball from the rack and approached the lane once more. She lifted the ball in front of her and closed her eyes. _Come on_ , she willed. _Just let me lucky this once._

With a shaken breath, she opened her eyes and swung the ball back before she hurled it forward down the lane.

It travelled slower than she would have hoped, but the ball still crashed into the pins and knocked every single one of them down. And the next thing Kasie knew, she was ambushed by a mess of blonde hair.

‘You did it!’ Carrie’s voice tickled her ear as surprisingly strong arms wrapped around her.

Kasie lifted her hands to return the celebratory hug, ready to hide the rapid beating of her heart with the confidence of her victory. Except when they did pull apart, Carrie didn’t move back. Instead she stood there, looking slightly dazed as her gaze danced of Kasie’s face.

Kasie’s heartbeat became even more frantic. She had been in moments like this before; moments when the whole world slowed down, when every one of her sense prepared themselves for a monumental kiss. A kiss she was more than willing to participate in, until her panicked thoughts began to eat away her.

_Gibbs, the case, inter-agency dating. She’s out of my league. She’ll get fed up of me like all the others did. She’ll only break your heart._

Kasie cleared her throat and stepped back. ‘I guess I owe you dinner?’

She watched as the dazed look in Carrie’s eyes dimmed, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face. Before Kasie could process it, the agents lips pulled into smile.

‘Lead the way, Miss Hines.’

Dinner wasn’t exactly glamourous: burgers, fries, and shakes in the bowling alley diner, but it was good. It was great, even, and Kasie deduced that was down to both the tasty fries and the beautiful agent sat opposite her.

‘So you used to play for a precinct team?’

‘Yeah, my dad worked for Maryland PD,’ Carrie answered before dipping a fry in her shake and chewing off the end. ‘My parents were young when they had me and didn’t stay together long after. My dad was a patrol cop, then he and his partner made it to detective. Growing up, I spent more time at the precinct than I did at home. I never really got on with my mom, and she had a new guy and eventually more kids, so I stayed with my dad most of the time. The captain used to let me sit in his office and do my homework. That’s probably where I gained all my crime-fighting skills. Whenever the precinct had a bowling game, I’d go along too then me, dad and his squad would have a fun game at the end so I could join in. Those times were easy to take for granted, and I am so relieved I never did, because then…’

‘Then it’s over before you realise,’ Kasie finished with an agreeing nod. ‘I know the feeling.’

Carrie offered her small smile and reached over to squeeze her hand once before sliding it back across the table. Though the touch was only for a moment, Kasie instantly missed the warmth, the soft skin, the comforting hold.

‘I ended up moving in with my dad’s partner on the squad when my mom threw me out. She encouraged me to take my dad’s place on the team, and no one objected. My dad was pretty loved and the other precincts knew what happened. I stayed on the team until I went away to college, then ended up in the FBI. I go back a lot and if they have a match while I’m there I’ll step in. I mostly go just to see them, though. They’re my family now. Especially Ronnie. She’s been more of a mom to me than my own ever was.’

‘Why would your mom throw you out?’ Kasie asked. ‘I mean you’re great, you’re sweet, you’re kind, you’re funny, you smile like an angel. What more could she want from you?’

‘Well that’s high praise,’ Carrie said with a giggle, her cheeks pinkened. ‘And my mom married a real religious type. She didn’t like me much anyway, said I was too much like my dad, but when she caught me and my first girlfriend kissing, she threw me to the curb. It wasn’t long after my dad died, just before I turned sixteen. Last time I spoke to her was a few months after when she let Ronnie take custody of me, but even than she refused to look at me.’

‘That’s horrible.’ Kasie swallowed, feeling sick to her stomach. Her parents had always been supportive of whoever she wanted to be and whoever she wanted to be with, as it should be. Just thinking about what Carrie went through at an age when she was talking openly about having crushes on girls and was, for the most part, pretty comfortable with who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. It was how she believed every teenager should be, but unfortunately it seemed she was one of the lucky ones.

Carrie, however, shrugged it off. ‘Hey, like I said, I got a real mom out of it in the end, and it was all for the best really. If I’d had stayed with her, my life wouldn’t be the same as it is now. Who knows what it could have been, but I’m happy I ended up on the path that led me right here to this bowling alley. Dipping fries in my shake with a pretty, smart, enigmatic forensic scientist sat opposite me.’

Kasie stared at her in surprise, and Carrie burst into giggles once more.

‘See, that’s revenge for all those lovely things you said and making me all flustered.’

‘Well I wasn’t lying,’ Kasie admitted, at which Carrie smirked.

‘Neither was I. Now get eating. We have ski-ball to play, remember?’

Kasie shook her head and picked up her burger, well aware of Carrie’s mischievous grin.

Ski-ball wasn’t as successful as planned. They ended up paying more attention to each other than the score, and in the end decided to call it a draw. Before Kasie could even ask what they should do next, Carrie gasped and ran across to the claw machines.

‘Look at them!’ she squealed as she admired the plush animals inside. Kasie took a look herself and had to admit they were cute. There was a panda, a cat, a cow and what looked like a sloth all mixed in together in the machine.

‘I’ll win you one,’ Kasie insisted, and Carrie quickly shook her head.

‘No, don’t waste your money. Nobody wins at these things.’

‘Because they don’t use the Kasie Hines technique.’ She reached into her pocket and put in enough money for four goes. ‘Watch and learn.’

The first go was a test to get a feel of how the claw worked, and so ended without a win. Kasie assessed the assortment of plushies and decided the sloth in the middle of the pile was the best strategic play. Her second attempt was a little far to the left to get a certain grip, and her third a little to the right. She took a deep breath and for her final go, aimed for the space in between.

The claw lowered, and Kasie worried perhaps she was about to make a complete fool of herself, but the sloth rose up with the claw and was carried across the machine to the hatch, where it dropped down ready for collection.

‘Oh my…’ Carrie stared at the machine in amazement. ‘You did not just…’

Kasie chuckled and reached down to pull the winning item out of the hatch. ‘One sloth, as promised.’

She handed the sloth to Carrie, who quickly hugged it tight to her chest. ‘Thank you. You know, no one’s won me anything before. That’s one thing off the bucket list.’

‘I’m happy I could help,’ Kasie beamed. Her heartbeat fast with adrenaline and quickened even more when Carrie batted her eyelashes.

‘I’m happy it was you too.’

They stared at each other for a moment, not breaking eye contact when Carrie edged a step closer. Kasie found it hard to breathe. All she had to do was lean forward and she would be kissing her, and from the way the agent broke their staring match to study her lips, Carrie was thinking the same.

The doubt before was gone, their conversation over dinner pushing it all aside. Their mutual life paths had led them to this very moment, and Kasie didn’t want to take any of it back. She wanted to keep moving forward, and so she slowly, carefully, consciously began to lean it.

She was so close, literally seconds away from their lips finally meeting…when a phone rang.

‘Damn it,’ she heard Carrie mutter as she stepped back. With the sloth tucked under her arm, she reached for her phone and brought to her ear. ‘Hammond.’

Kasie watched Carrie listen closely to the call and saw her shoulders slump in disappointment.

‘Yep we’ll be right back.’ Carrie put the phone down and smiled apologetically. ‘Gibbs wants us back.’

Kasie almost laughed. Of course, it had to be Gibbs. It’s like he had a radar for when any of the team came close to breaking one of his sacred rules.

‘Come on.’ Carrie reached out and took her hand. ‘Let’s get going before he starts looking for us.’

That was enough to get Kasie moving.

After getting to NCIS, the team rushed off to ambush Cormack in his suspected hideout. Kasie was going to stay, but Jack said she should go get some rest. Her job was done for today and she should rest up ready to go over the returning evidence in the morning.

As soon as she got to her apartment, she changed into her pyjamas and got ready for bed. She was just reading a paper Ducky had sent her about partial finger-print analysis when her phone dinged. She checked the message and saw it was from an unrecognised number. Kasie frowned and opened up the message, and with that the paper was instantly forgotten.

_Hi Kasie it’s Carrie. Ellie gave me your number. I hope you don’t mind. Just wanted to say goodnight._

Kasie read the message over again before she scrambled to type up a reply.

 **KASIE:** _Hi Carrie! Of course it’s okay! Have you caught the guy yet??_

**CARRIE:** _Not yet. The place was empty when we got here, Me and Gibbs are waiting inside while the others are waiting outside. Just waiting on their signal for him to return._

**KASIE:** _And Gibbs is okay with you texting me??_

**CARRIE:** _He’s on the phone to Jack so I took my window. I better go though. Goodnight and sleep tight._

**KASIE:** _Thanks, you too!_

The moment she sent it she cursed and covered her face with her palm. Of course she wasn’t going to sleep tight. The woman was preparing an ambush!

Luckily her phone dinged a few moments later with a laughing face and the double heart emoji. Kasie bit her lip in an attempt not to grin like a lovestruck teenager, even if that was exactly how she felt.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW// food, alcohol, mild mentions of homophobia

The next morning Kasie skipped out of the elevator and headed straight into the squad room, surprised to see the team sat at their desks (sans Gibbs) looking reasonably well rested.

‘Hey guys, how did it go last night? Did we get him?’

‘Oh we got him,’ Nick grinned. ‘Or should I say, Hammond did.’

‘What?’ Kasie looked between them, ‘W-what happened? Is she okay?’

‘She’s fine,’ Ellie quickly reassured. ‘She’s with Gibbs questioning Cormack now.’

Kasie allowed herself to relax. ‘So what happened?’

‘Well a little before midnight, Cormack pulled up in a car and headed into the hideout with another guy,’ Ellie explained. ‘Gibbs fought the other guy while Hammond chased after Cormack.’

‘Kasie, you should have seen her.’ Nick jumped out of his chair and started imitating fighting moves. ‘The guy tried to run but Hammond was like _wapow_. Then he tried fighting back, and Hammond dodged all his punches and managed to get his hands behind his back to cuff him. The guy is built like a brick wall and she got him down in like seconds. I need to know her secret, man.’

‘Well Gibbs was certainly impressed,’ Tim commented. ‘He’s really taken a shine to her, you know.’

‘Oh we noticed,’ Nick smirked. ‘I bet Jack is so…’

‘Jack’s so what, Nick?’ Gibbs asked as he walked out from under the stairs, Carrie following quick behind him.

‘…a very intelligent lady and I respect her greatly,’ Nick managed to cover himself.

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head, before he looked to Carrie and held out his hand to her. ‘Well Agent Hammond, it really has been a pleasure.’

‘It has, Agent Gibbs.’ Carrie shook Gibbs’ hand formally, but their smiles gave them away. ‘Hopefully we’ll work together again.’

‘Wait you’re leaving?’ Ellie questioned. ‘Did Cormack confess?’

‘Sung like a canary,’ Carrie grinned. ‘I’ve got to do debrief my superiors back at the FBI, but I’ll be back tomorrow to help with the paperwork.’

Kasie didn’t know how to feel. She was relieved they wouldn’t be working together anymore so if there was any repeat of the night before, it technically wouldn’t be against the rules. Yet on the other hand it also meant Carrie wouldn’t be wandering into her lab anymore or meeting her by the coffee kart. What if with some distance, Carrie decided she really didn’t want to spend time with her or they just go so busy that they never…

Before Kasie’s thoughts could continue to spiral, Carrie stepped towards her with a hopeful smile. ‘Maybe if you’re not busy we could get coffee when I’m done tomorrow?’

Kasie couldn’t stop herself from grinning. ‘Yeah that would be great.’

‘Why don’t you come out with us tonight?’ Ellie butted in. ‘Me, Kasie and Jack are going on a girl’s night.’

‘We are?’ Kasie frowned, and noticed Gibbs raise an eyebrow in equal surprise.

‘Yep, we are,’ Ellie insisted. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun.’

‘I’d love to, really,’ Carrie replied. ‘But I’m actually meeting some college friends tonight. Count me in next time though.’

‘That’s cool.’ Ellie then got up and grabbed her coat. ‘I’ll walk you out.’

‘Great. I’ll see the rest of you tomorrow.’ Carrie gave Kasie one last smile before she linked arms with Ellie and headed towards the elevator. Kasie watched them go with her shoulder’s slumped in disappointment.

‘You okay, Kase?’ Tim asked with clear concern. She nodded with a forced smile.

‘Yeah, I’m juts gotta go do something,’ Kasie replied and dashed towards the stairs before either he, Nick, or even Gibbs could comment.

She made her way to Jack’s office and found the psychologist sat at her desk smiling at something on her phone. Yet in true Jack fashion, she noticed Kasie almost straight away and quickly set her phone aside to give her guest her full attention.

‘Kasie, come on in.’

Kasie stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She moved quickly to the chair opposite Jack and sat down. ‘I think I really like Carrie.’

‘You think or you know?’

‘I know.’

‘I knew it!’ Jack beamed and clapped her hands. ‘So, when are you going to ask her out?’

‘I don’t know,’ Kasie sighed. ‘I mean, we went out together last night and we got pretty close, but I don’t know if I’m just being delusional. I mean, for starters, I’ve only known her a few days, and I’m not even sure if she likes me back. Logically, she probably shouldn’t. She’s a badass special agent and I’m…’

‘A badass forensic scientist,’ Jack told her. ‘Kasie, Carrie likes you. It’s obvious to everyone in this building besides you, and I think there’s a reason behind that. So I think we should talk about it.’

Kasie just shrugged and slumped back in the chair. ‘Where do we even start?’

‘Start wherever you want,’ Jack insisted. ‘Just talk and I’ll listen.’

‘Okay then, well do you remember the first time I came to NCIS with Ducky to work on that cold case? Well I was down in the lab, back when it was Abby’s, and Ducky said I was an acquired taste. And I was okay with it because I knew he meant it in a nice way, but also because I’m used to hearing it. Every relationship I’ve ever had has ended because I was too much, or just not what they wanted in a partner. After a while, it’s just become one of those things I’ve gotten used to. It’s never really bothered me until, well, now.’

‘Until Carrie,’ Jack added. ‘I get it. None of us are exactly normal around here. Heck, we’re all a bunch of misfits, and we all have our quirks, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t deserving of love, especially when it comes to the right person. And the mistake you’re making here is not giving Carrie the chance to prove she’s not like the others, and not giving yourself the chance to show off what a funny, kind, fantastic person you are.’

‘But what if she really doesn’t feel the same? Or what if I scare her off? I mean it’s only been a few days...’

‘Kasie, timescale has nothing to do with it. Some people take months, maybe years to develop feelings for someone, and others feel it over a cup of coffee in a thunderstorm not five minutes after meeting.’ Jack looked down at her desk, a dreamy smile on her face. ‘Yes those are the most daunting kind of feelings, but that doesn’t make them any less real or any less worth it.’

Kasie studied Jack closely, unsure they were still talking about her and Carrie or someone else.

‘And as for scaring her off?’ Jack continued. ‘I understand that too, but to also answer your first question, you have nothing to worry about. Trust me, I have a degree in human behaviour, and that girl feels exactly the same way you do. In fact, I’m willing to bet my career on it.’

Kasie shifted to sit up in the chair, not sure whether to laugh or cry. ‘Well it’s pretty hard to argue with that.’

‘Then don’t, and _please_ just ask her out already.’

‘I will,’ Kasie found herself saying as she stood up. ‘I actually will…tomorrow. We’re meeting for coffee. I think it’s best for it to be a face to face thing.’

‘Of course,’ Jack responded, before she picked up her phone again. ‘And hey, what’s this I’m hearing about a girl’s night out?’

Kasie shook her head in disbelief. ‘Eleanor Bishop, you’re lucky I love you.’

Despite Ellie’s suggestion earlier in the week to go to every club in the DC area, they ended up settled at a bar not far from the navy yard that played a lot of glam rock and had a three for two special on rum shots.

‘This was a great idea!’ Ellie grinned between sips of her drink. ‘Wasn’t this such a great idea?’

‘I think you need to steady yourself,’ Kasie told her. ‘We don’t want you storming the karaoke stage.’

‘Again,’ Jack added with a giggle. ‘So Ellie, why did you choose this place? You always say it looks like a dive.’

‘I thought we could do with a change,’ Ellie shrugged unconvincingly. ‘And a little birdy told me this was a great place to go.’

‘A little birdy?’ Kasie’s narrowed her eyes. ‘Eleanor Bishop, what did you do?’

‘I’ve done nothing but organise a nice night out for just us girls. Isn’t that right, Jack?’

‘Yep, just a nice night out,’ Jack confirmed a little more convincingly but Kasie still saw right through it.

‘Okay, what’s going on?’

‘Nothing!’ Ellie squeaked.

‘Okay now I definitely don’t beli-‘

‘Kasie?’

Whirling round in her chair, Kasie found her ears had not deceived her. There, dressed in a black shirt and matching jeans, was Carrie Hammond, her smile brightened by the neon lights.

Kasie stood from her chair and smiled when Carrie pulled her into a hug.

‘You look great,’ she told her, but Carrie waved it off almost immediately.

‘Please, I look a mess. You, however, are an absolute vision. I love that dress.’

Kasie looked down at her own outfit: it was a loose red dress with white dots- one she kept in her lab in case she needed to wear something more, well, dressy. It wasn’t anything special, but the compliment still made her blush from ear to ear.

‘Thanks. So what brings you here?’

‘This is where me and my college buddies like to hang out, and I see Ellie took my recommendation.’

‘Yeah, seems so.’ Kasie glanced back to Ellie, who smiled innocently in response.

‘Why don’t you join us?’ Jack asked as Kasie sat back down.

‘I would but I’m with my friends and they’re…well lets just say I’d like to be able to look you guys in the eye again. Especially because we might be seeing a lot more of each other.’

Kasie’s interest peaked up at that, and it seemed so did Jack’s. ‘Have we got another joint case already?’

‘Erm actually no.’ Carrie clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heel awkwardly. ‘Gibbs called this afternoon and offered me a job on the team.’

And just like that, Kasie’s heart plummeted.

‘What did you say?’ Ellie asked, sitting up with interest.

‘I said I needed to think about it. He’s given me until I come by tomorrow to decide, so I’m going to sleep on it.’ Her hand then moved to Kasie’s shoulder. ‘I best get back to my group, but I’ll see you all tomorrow.’

After they said their goodbyes and Carrie left to return to her friends, their table fell into silence. Kasie stared down at her drink, unsure whether to cry or drown her sorrows in rum shots. Perhaps a combination of the two.

‘Kasie,’ Ellie eventually spoke up, her playfulness from before replaced by sadness. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Why?’ Jack frowned. ‘What just happened?’

‘It’s cool guys,’ Kasie insisted. ‘Looking back, it was pretty obvious this was going to happen.’

‘Okay, I’m completely lost,’ Jack interjected. ‘Someone explain to me what’s going on.’

‘If Carrie joins the team, Kasie can’t ask date Carrie,’ Ellie explained. ‘Rule twelve.’

Jack’s frown deepened. ‘Rule twelve?’

‘Never date a co-worker,’ Kasie recited bitterly.

Realisation crossed Jack’s face. ‘What, you’re talking about one of Gibbs’ rules?’ When both Kasie and Ellie nodded solemnly, Jack scoffed. ‘Seriously?’

‘It’s not just one of the rules,’ Kasie emphasised. ‘It’s one of the main ones.’

‘Yeah, look at Tony and Ziva,’ Ellie added. ‘Do you really think they would have stayed apart if they didn’t have to?’

Jack shook her head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Seriously, Kasie, you’re not going to ask Carrie out tomorrow now over this?’

‘You were going to ask her out tomorrow?’ Ellie gasped. ‘Oh Kasie…’

‘Stop, both of you,’ Jack huffed. ‘Please trust me when I say neither of you should let anyone dictate your love lives, and especially not Leroy Jethro Gibbs.’

‘Yeah,’ Ellie piped up. ‘Yeah screw him. I’ll date who I want.’

‘Exactly!’ Jack raised her glass to toast it. ‘Right Kase?’

Kasie stole a glance towards the table Carrie sat with three other women, all laughing away at something or other. She smiled sadly at the sight before she turned back to Ellie and Jack. ‘I think it’s for the best. She’s out of my league anyway, and I don’t want to cause trouble with Gibbs. I guess it was just not meant to be.’

Ellie and Jack shared a look before the younger agent got the attention of a waiter. ‘Hey, keep those shots coming.’

After another hour, they had all drunk more than they should have and had gotten to the point in the evening when it was time to call it a night. Once they paid up the regrettably high tab and made it out of the bar, Kasie was surprised to find Gibbs and Nick stood outside beside their respective vehicles.

‘When did you call them?’

‘Me and Jack texted them while you were making googly eyes at Carrie,’ Ellie explained with a teasing grin. Kasie rolled her eyes in response.

‘Okay maybe I looked at her a little…’

‘A lot.’

‘But she’s very pretty okay?’

Ellie just laughed in response. Jack, however, had broken off from them and raced forward to Gibbs, all but jumping into his arms.

‘Cowboy,’ she said before burying her face in his chest. Gibbs chuckled and wrapped his arms around her protectively, shooting Nick a quick glare to keep him from making a comment.

Ellie saddled up besides Nick and bumped his arm with hers. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey,’ Nick replied, looking Ellie up and down. ‘You better not throw up in my car.’

‘I can’t make any promises.’ Ellie’s eyes then drifted back to Kasie and waved her over. ‘Come on, we’ll drop you off.’

‘No, no,’ Jack protested, her face emerging from its Gibbs pillow. ‘We’ll take Kasie home.’

‘It’s cool,’ Kasie insisted. ‘I’m far out of each of your ways. I’ll get a cab or something.’

‘Kase, don’t worry about it,’ Nick insisted. ‘You aren’t that far out the way.’

That wasn’t the real reason Kasie didn’t want to go with them, though she would have felt bad making them travel all around DC to get her home. No, it was the fact both Jack and Ellie had people on standby in case they needed a lift home, and perhaps even stay in said home with them once they got there. Usually she would have been happy for them, but that night she was too sad and tipsy to deal with it.

‘And you’re not getting a cab by yourself,’ Gibbs added. ‘Come on, let one of us drop you off.’

Kasie opened her mouth to argue when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. With a yelp, she staggered back, the only thing stopping her from falling being the arm that quickly secured itself on her back.

‘Sorry.’ Carrie came into view. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’

‘You didn’t scare me,’ Kasie insisted, her hand resting on her rapidly beating heart. ‘Okay, maybe you did a little.’

‘Hey Hammond,’ Nick greeted her. ‘Fancy seeing you here. And may I say your looki-OW!’

Nick jumped and looked to Ellie with a glare, who in turn gave him a pointed look.

‘Are you guys heading home?’ Carrie asked, her attention returning to Kasie. ‘You want a ride? I’m leaving now too. And don’t worry, I haven’t been drinking. I was only here for the atmosphere and I have too much paperwork waiting for me at home to have that much of a good time. You’ll be perfectly safe with me.’

Before Kasie could answer, Jack jumped right in. ‘She would love to, Agent Hammond. Make sure she gets home safe.’

‘Yeah drop me a text when you get home,’ Ellie added before she shooed Nick towards his car.

‘Wait, I…’ Before Kasie could even try to protest, Jack and Ellie had rushed their guys into their vehicles and were waving her goodbye. Which left her stood on the pavement, alone with Special Agent Hammond.

‘Come on.’ Carrie linked arms with her and led the way. ‘My car is just over here.’

Once they got in the car, Kasie only spoke to give Carrie her address and quickly fixed her attention on the passenger window, shuffling in her seat to put as much distance between her and the blonde as possible. After a few blocks of tense silence, she heard Carrie sigh.

‘Okay, what’s going on?’

‘What?’

‘You’re acting weird,’ Carrie insisted.

‘I am weird,’ Kasie responded.

‘No you’re acting weird as in…look has something happened? Earlier you seemed happy to see me and now you can’t even look at me.’

Kasie tore her gaze from the window to look at the woman beside her. Though Carrie’s eyes were focused on the road ahead, her brow was frowned and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Kasie instantly felt bad. Carrie was probably concerned and upset over getting the silent treatment, and that wasn’t fair on her. Not when she had done nothing but be kind to her.

So, with a deep breath, Kasie decided it was time to be honest.

‘I like you.’

Carrie’s face brightened into a smile. ‘I like you too, Kasie.’

‘No, I _like_ like you and that’s the problem.’

‘A problem?’ Carrie’s frown returned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Because for starters you’re wayyy out of my league, and you probably don’t like me back. But now even if for whatever reason you felt the same, it wouldn’t matter. Gibbs’ rules are absolute, and we can’t break rule twelve.’

‘Rule twelve,’ Carrie repeated. ‘And what rule would that be?’

‘Never date a co-worker,’ Kasie answered sadly. ‘I’m not saying this to put you on the spot. I think you should take the job. You work well with the team and being on Gibbs’ team is like a huge deal. And, you know, I’ll get over it. I’m pretty much an expert at it at this point. I’ve just drunk a little too much and I’m all upset. I’ll be fine tomorrow.’

‘Okay…’ Carrie stole a sceptical glance her way. ‘And what if…’

‘No,’ Kasie stopped her. ‘I think we should leave it.’

‘But Kasie…’

‘ _Please_ ,’ she begged. ‘Please Carrie, just leave it.’

Carrie opened her mouth to respond, put quickly closed it again. She shifted in her chair and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. ‘Okay then.’

Kasie stared at her a few moments before she turned to the window again, counting down the seconds until she got home. The night had ended up being a total disaster, and tomorrow would probably be even worse.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW// food, alcohol, mild mentions of homophobia

The next morning Kasie headed down to autopsy with an aching head and heart. When she arrived, Jimmy greeted her with his usual giddiness, but quickly realised all was not well on planet Kasie.

So, in true Jimmy fashion, he broke into Ducky’s hidden tea stash and sat her down at his desk.

‘So what happened?’ he asked softly.

‘My inability to keep my mouth shut happened,’ Kasie huffed. ‘I had too much to drinks last night and ended up saying some things I shouldn’t have.’

‘Oh come on, Kase. Jack and Ellie aren’t going to judge you,’ Jimmy assured. ‘They aren’t like that.’

‘It’s not them I’m talking about,’ Kasie sighed. ‘We bumped into Carrie and she mentioned Gibbs had offered her a job. I got all drunk and emotional and ended up telling her exactly how I felt’

‘And?’ Jimmy leaned forward in his chair. ‘What did she say to that?’

‘Nothing,’ she shrugged. ‘She tried to, but I told her to leave it. I’d already messed it up. At this rate I’ll be lucky if I’m able to look her in the eye ever again.’

Jimmy offered her a reassuring smile. ‘You should talk to her.’

She scoffed at that. ‘What, so I can humiliate myself further?’

‘You never know, Kasie. Sometimes people surprise you.’

Kasie gave him a sceptical look and sipped some more of her tea. ‘You’re lucky, Jimmy. What you and Breena have is special.’

‘I know,’ he sighed blissfully. ‘But I’m sure you’ll find your Breena. It could be Agent Hammond, or it could be someone else. Just make sure you leave your heart open for when it happens.’

For the first time that morning, Kasie Hines managed to smile. ‘You know for someone who always puts his foot in it with Gibbs, you sure know what to say when you need to.’

Jimmy held up his cup of tea in the affirmative. ‘It’s a gift.’

And for the first time since the night before, Kasie managed a laugh.

After they finished their tea, Kasie left Jimmy to his work and wandered up to the squad room. She hid under the stairs for a moment, peaking out to see if Carrie was there for her meeting with Gibbs. Before she could get a good look, she heard someone call her name.

‘Kasie, what are you doing?’ Ellie asked from where she sat at her desk.

‘Are you hiding from Gibbs?’ She heard Tim ask, unable see him from her hiding place.

‘Is he here?’ she asked as she eyed the empty chair fearfully.

‘No, he’s in Jack’s office with Hammond,’ Nick answered as he stepped into view. ‘What’s up?’

Kasie stepped fully into the squad room to meet the three concerned agents. ‘I messed it up.’

‘You messed what up?’ Ellie frowned for a moment before her eyes widened in realisation. ‘Oh Kasie, you didn’t!’

‘I did.’

Ellie gawped at her. ‘You threw up in Carrie’s car?’

‘What?! No! Why would you think that?’

‘Because she almost threw up in mine last night,’ Nick huffed. ‘I just managed to pull over in time.’

‘I apologised!’

‘You put my leather seats in jeopardy!’

Tim cleared his throat. ‘Erm, guys, Kasie hasn’t told us what happened yet.’

‘You’re right, she hasn’t.’ Nick stood beside her with his hands on his folded. ‘Spill it.’

Kasie covered her face with her hand. Telling Jimmy had been mortifying, but telling Ellie, Nick, and Tim was a whole other level of humiliating. ‘I told Carrie I like her.’

‘Yes!’ Ellie tapped her hands against her desk before she pointed at Nick. ‘You owe me twenty bucks!’

‘No, the bet was they would get together, not just Kasie admitting she likes her.’

‘No, I said something was going to happen on the drive home,’ Ellie clarified. ‘And as you can see, something did happen.’

Muttering something in Spanish under his breath, he pulled out his wallet and placed a twenty-dollar bill in Ellie’s awaiting hand. Tim laughed at the exchange, while Kasie stared at them in disbelief.

‘I can’t believe you two bet on me!’

‘At least I had faith in you,’ Ellie pointed out. ‘But that doesn’t matter. What matters is what happens now. Are you two dating?’

‘We can’t, remember. Rule twelve.’

Ellie rolled her eyes. ‘Jack said rule twelve is nothing.’

‘She did?’ Nick and Tim asked in unison and Ellie nodded in confirmation.

‘Yep, but Kasie is still using it as an excuse to be a chicken.’

‘I’m not a chicken,’ Kasie huffed, her annoyance only growing as Nick started making chicken noises. ‘Cut it out, Nick, or I’ll hack your Instagram again.’

Nick stopped with the noises, but his teasing grin remained. ‘Come on, Kase. We’re only messing.’

‘Yeah and your messing and matchmaking has made me make a complete fool out of myself in front of the first girl I’ve liked in a very long time, so excuse me if I’m not laughing along with you.’

The three agents instantly stopped laughing, their teasing expressions changing to ones of concern.

‘Kasie, we didn’t mean to upset you.’ Ellie insisted. ‘We just want you to be happy.’

Kasie looked down at her shoes in disgrace. ‘I know and I’m sorry for snapping. I just don’t know what to do. Jimmy said I should talk to her, or at least be more open to the possibility of finding someone, but I’m just a little…’

‘Heartbroken?’ Tim suggested.

‘Yep.’

‘Well I think Jimmy is right,’ Nick said, earning raised eyebrows from the others. ‘What, it makes sense. They do say love is an open door, right?’

‘Isn’t that a song from _Frozen_?’ Tim asked, and Nick’s eyes comically widened.

‘No, it’s not.’

‘Yes, it is!’ Ellie grinned mischievously. Nick held his own for a few moments before his shoulders slumped in defeat.

‘Fine, I like _Frozen_ , okay? It’s not a crime.’

‘No, it’s not,’ Ellie agreed. ‘That’s why next movie night we’re having a marathon.’

Nick grinned before he started to dance singing the words to “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?”.

Kasie laughed and shook her head. No matter what happened, at least she would still have these idiots to keep her company.

After Nick finished his musical medley, Kasie headed back to her lab. And once again, she had nothing to do.

She was right back where she was a few days ago, waiting for a new case she could sink her teeth into. Only last time she didn’t just get a box of evidence, she got stupid unshakable feelings too.

It was strange to think that before the case, the name Carrie Hammond meant nothing to her and big teel eyes framed by blonde hair hadn’t been plastered at the forefront of her mind. Days ago, she had been so desperate to find something to keep her mind occupied, and now she was desperate for a distraction from the cute agent that seemed to captivate her every thought.

It was something she needed to get over, or at least deal with, should Carrie decide to take up Gibbs’ job offer. She couldn’t be distracted like this all the time, not when she had finally got her dream job. No matter how heartachingly beautiful that distraction was.

She heard the elevator ding and rushed to the door to greet her visitor, hoping there was finally some work to distract herself with. Except Agent Hammond waltzed in empty-handed, dressed in her agent formal wear as she had when they met, only now with flats instead of heels. She greeted Kasie with a nervous smile.

‘Hey.’

‘Hi,’ Kasie managed as she back up against her computer unit, the corner pressing into her back. ‘What brings you down here.’

‘I just finished signing off on the case report,’ Carrie explained, pointing her thumb back towards the elevator. ‘Thought we were going for coffee.’

Kasie’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Y-you still want to go?’

‘Yes…’ Carrie looked to her in confusion. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’

‘Because of last night.’

‘Yeah, I thought maybe we could maybe talk about that over coffee, if that’s alright?’

And there it was. Sure, it was better than avoidance, but Kasie knew well enough what “talk over coffee” meant. She closed her eyes to gather herself before she met Carrie’s eyes with the strongest gaze she could muster.

‘Okay if we’re going to have this conversation, I’d rather have it here. At least here I can be let down easy without an audience.’

‘Let down easy?’ Carrie frowned. ‘What…Kasie, I was going to ask you on a date.’

‘What?’ Kasie blinked in surprise. ‘Y-you…me…a date?’

‘Yes, if that’s something you’d be interested in?’

‘I…’ Kasie just stared at her. Kasie Hines, NCIS forensic scientist and professional rambler couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even _think_.

Carrie offered her a small smile and stepped forward. She took Kasie’s hands in hers and held her gaze with the determination of, well, a special agent.

‘Kasie, I wanted to tell you this last night, but at first you wouldn’t let me and then I figured I should sort some things out before we discussed all this. So here it goes. I spoke to Gibbs this morning, and though he was quick to insist that rule twelve was no longer an issue, I still turned down the job.’

‘What, you…’ Kasie began to interrupt, but Carrie quickly stopped her.

‘Just let me finish, okay?’ she asked and when Kasie nodded, she continued. ‘Now before you ask, no it wasn’t just about whatever this is between us, but that was one of the main factors. I have ongoing cases with the FBI that I don’t want to abandon, and I’m not quite done with that chapter of my professional life just yet. However, this decision is also a personal one too. Though rule twelve does seem pretty harsh, I understand the logic about it. Working together and being together is a dangerous mix, and I don’t want to risk whatever we could have over cases and work-place politics. I don’t want to be colleagues; I want to be…well whatever we end up being to each other.’

Kasie looked down at their joined hands with a frown. ‘Okay, now I’m really confused. Why would you…’

Carrie pulled one of her hands away and held it up to stop her. ‘Honestly Kasie, for someone who’s so amazingly intelligent, you’re so dumb.’

Kasie’s gaze snapped up to meet hers once more. ‘What?’

Carrie laughed softly and shook her head. ‘You know the first time I came down here, the moment I saw you I couldn’t help but think “wow she’s downright adorable”. Then we got to know each other, and we talked about things that I haven’t told anyone about in years, and I could feel there was something there. The bowling alley confirmed for me it was more than just a crush, and when you won me that sloth, it was the most ridiculous and sweet thing anyone has ever done for me, and it was then I knew this had the potential to be something really special.’

Kasie continued to stare, her heartbeat ringing in her ears as it raced frantically in anticipation. Her brain couldn’t quite believe what was happening, but her eyes weren’t deceiving her, and she could now see clear as day the adoration in Carrie’s eyes.

‘You know I had this whole plan yesterday that when I took you out for coffee, I would tell you all that,’ Carrie admitted. ‘Then last night happened and I wanted to tell you I felt the same, but I had to not only sort out the whole Gibbs thing, but to also find the right word to articulate how I feel and I think I have, so here it goes. I want to go on a date with you and see where this takes us. Because I think you’re wonderful, Kasie Hines, and I want to spend however long you’ll have me proving just that.’

Kasie didn’t have the words to respond so she acted instead. She cupped Carrie’s cheek with her free hand and finally, _finally_ , kissed her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt complete.

They pulled back after a few moments, both flushed and a little breathless, but still smiling widely.

‘Let’s get that coffee,’ Carrie insisted, squeezing her hand softly. ‘Call it date 0.5.’

‘That sounds wonderful,’ Kasie agreed, ready to follow her out of the room, and wherever else she may ever want to go, before she had a quick thought. ‘Can you give me a minute? I have something l I need to do.’

‘Of course,’ Carrie assured. ‘We have all the time in the world.’

Reluctantly letting go of Carrie’s hand, Kasie rushed into the other room. She hid out of view and pulled out her phone, opening up the group chat she shared with Ellie and Jack. With a smirk, she typed a message:

_You can both stop your matchmaking now. I’ve got it all sorted._

Once it was sent, she put her phone back in her pocket and switched her lab coat for her jacket. She walked out to find Carrie leaning against her table, smiling when she saw her approach.

‘All sorted?’

‘yep.’ Kasie moved over and took her hand again. ‘Let’s go.’

Once they got into the elevator, stood so close their arms were pretty much pressed together, Kasie heard her phone ding, followed by another a few seconds later. She laughed softly to herself.

‘What’s got you all giggly?’ Carrie asked, and Kasie shrugged.

‘I don’t know. I guess I’m just happy.’


End file.
